How to understand?

[Guest guest]

On 17 Mar 2000, Vishwarupa Dasa wrote:

 

> Dear Prabhu/Maharaja,

> Pamho! AgtSP!

>

> One text states that a person who is ignorant of His presence in all living

> entities never pleases Him by the worship of His Deities in the temple, and

> another proclaims that one should worship the Deity of the Supreme

Personality

> of Godhead until one realizes His presence in his own heart and in the

hearts

> of other living entities as well. So how to be able to understand this?

Please

> reply me.

>

Dear Prabhu,

 

PAMHO. AGTSP and ISKCON.

 

My understanding is:

 

If a poor person who is not able to earn a living is hungry,

a)If you give him bread then his problem is solved for the day.

b) If you teach him some skill and find him a job then his problem is solved

for a life time.

c) But if you give him Krishna then his problem is solved for ever beyond this

life time also.

 

Many think so we must do only step c) above. The proper understanding is we

must do all three steps, a) b) and c). a) is an Anna Daata b) is a social

worker c) is a sectarian Vaishnava. A non sectarian Vaishnava does all the

three activities above. He distributes Prasada. He engages the person in the

service of Krishna (finds his a job). He gives the person (Krishna) Siksha

and Diksha.

 

Another example is the cage and the bird. When this story is heard we think

we must take care of only the bird(soul) and the cage(body) is not so

important. The right understading is we must take care of both the cage and

the bird. One who takes care of the cage alone will kill the soul meaning

will meet with spiritual suicide. One who takes care of only the bird, it is

impracticle, as long as the bird is in the cage. If the cage is kept dirty

the bird will fall sick and eventually will end up again in spiritual death.

One who takes care of only the soul is a dry renounciant or Markata Vairagi.

One who takes of only the cage is a materialist. A devotee takes care of

both, body and the soul understading his own capabilities, strength and

weaknesses.

 

In these two verses, the Lord is telling, it is not sufficient just pouring

the water on the root. The plant's health and growth and other requirements

must be observed and taken care of simultaneously. Excess water or too less

water can kill the plant.

 

These two verses are not contradicting each other. Actually it is continuous

dialogue. The Lord says one must do his prescribed duties and simultaneously

engage in deity worship or service of Krishna. In the beginning stage it is

called Sadhana Bhakti. That is why until one is properly trained one has to

do these things under the direction of a spiritual master. Other wise there

is every chance that one may not do things in a balanced way. By doing so he

will attain perfection as said in the last line of the second verse......until

one realises my presense in his own heart and in the hearts of all the living

entities.

 

The entire Bhagavadgita is based on this point, where Arjuna is confused, and

Krishna says "tasmat sarveshu kaleshu mam anusmarya yudhya ca....".

 

Hope this helps,

 

Please correct me if I am wrong,

 

Your humble servant,

Bhadra Govinda Das (JPS).

 

> My dear Mother, even if he worships with proper rituals and

> paraphernalia, a person who is ignorant of My presence in all living

>entities never pleases Me by the worship of My Deities in the temple.

>Performing his prescribed duties, one should worship the Deity of the

> Supreme Personality of Godhead until one realizes My presence in his >own

heart and in the hearts of other living entities as well.

[Guest guest]

Vishwarupa das prabhu inquired:

 

> One text states that a person who is ignorant of [sri Krsna's] presence

> in all living entities never pleases Him by the worship of His Deities

> in the temple, and another proclaims that one should worship the Deity

> of the Supreme Personality of Godhead until one realizes His presence

> in his own heart and in the hearts of other living entities as well.

> So how to be able to understand this?

 

>SB Canto 3, Ch.29, text 24:

 

> My dear Mother, even if he worships with proper rituals and

> paraphernalia, a person who is ignorant of My presence in all living

> entities never pleases Me by the worship of My Deities in the temple.

 

> Text 25:

 

> Performing his prescribed duties, one should worship the Deity

> of the Supreme Personality of Godhead until one realizes My presence

> in his own heart and in the hearts of other living entities as well.

 

Dear prabhus,

 

Viewed mathematically, it is almost an intractable puzzle. Without A, no

B,

yet B precedes A. Yet Krsna does not give us a problem that is unsolvable.

How about: Krsna consciousness is both the means and the end. We practice

sadhana bhakti (regulative devotional service) with the goal of attaining

raganuga bhakti (spontaneous pure devotional service). At the beginning,

ignorant of the Lord's omnipresence, we worship His Deity form locally,

without, though, thoroughly satisfying Him. Through such service, however,

our hearts become purified, and we are able to see Him within and without.

At this point, our worship becomes more satisfying to Him. Now, whenever

we worship Him, we do so cognizant of His presence in our hearts and in

the

hearts of all living entities.

 

Srila Prabhupada recommended Deity worship to all his disciples and

followers, and sometimes stressed its curative function, for example

to those devotees who might suffer twinges of lustfulness, greed

or envy. These emotions are selfish ones, and one who is under their

sway will be unable to experience true empathy with other creatures.

The mirror of his or her heart will be covered up with such unnecessary

dust and he or she will also be unable to perceive Sri Paramatma.

 

The sage Narada Muni declares (Bhag. 4.8.59-60) that one who executes

serious and sincere devotional service to the Lord (whether bodily or

mentally) and who scrupulously performs his particular duties is blessed

by the Lord according to his desire. The devotee is advised to desire

only the service of the Lord, rather than any material goal, and to

associate with other devotees in the mode of purified goodness, to

follow regulative principles of mild austerity, to cleave to favourable

activities whilst eschewing the unfavourable, and to strive always to

remember, and never to forget, Sri Krsna the Personality of Godhead.

 

Srila Prabhupad would be well pleased to hear that devotees are asking

interesting questions such as this one posed by Vishwarupa prabhu. He

wanted us to study shastra scrutinisingly from all different angles of

approach. Another interesting forum for this sort of theological

discussion

may be found on the BTG-Talk list at http://www.cs.rice.edu/~vivek/btg/

 

Best wishes to all devotees,

Ananda das